Ancient Israeli Fortress Yields Surprise: A Greek Vase

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Decades after it was excavated, an ancient fortress in the heart
of Tel Aviv, Israel, is offering new hints about its past,
archaeologists at Tel Aviv University say.

New findings suggest the fortress, Tel Qudadi, was established
centuries later than believed, and may have served as an
intermediate station for
trade ships traveling between Egypt and Phoenicia.

"The secrets of this ancient fortress are only beginning to be
revealed," said archaeologists Alexander Fantalkin and Oren Tal.

The researchers unearthed an
amphora (a large jar used to transport oil or wine)
from the Greek isle of Lesbos at the crumbling edifice. The find
is the earliest known example to date of Lesbian ceramic work in
the Mediterranean.

What remains a mystery, the researchers say, is how the Lesbian
amphora arrived at Tel Qudadi in the first place. It may have
come aboard a Phoenician ship on a trading voyage around the
Mediterranean.

While a single find cannot prove the existence of trade between
ancient Israel and Lesbos, the finding has implications for
understanding trade routes between different parts of the
Mediterranean.

The mysterious amphora, along with other new discoveries about
the ancient fortress, is causing researchers to reassess the
site's timeline.

Earlier theories of Tel Qudadi's history suggested the fortress
was established at the behest of
King Solomon during the 10th century B.C., to protect against
sea raids.

The new findings indicate the fortress was built later: the late
8th century B.C. or early 7th century B.C. This would mean Tel
Qudadi was not established by the Israelite Kingdom but instead
was part of the Assyrian
empire, a powerful civilization centered in
Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), which ruled Israel in the late 8th
century B.C. and most of the 7th century B.C.

The research presents the possibility that Tel Qudadi was an
important station along the
maritime route between Egypt and Phoenicia, the
Mediterranean kingdom where Syria, Lebanon and Israel are now
located.

These findings are detailed in a recent issue of the journal
Palestine Exploration Quarterly and BABESH: Annual Papers on
Mediterranean Archaeology.